Terry hopeful Anelka stays Blue for years

CHELSEA captain John Terry wants Nicolas Anelka to stay with the Blues for years.

Anelka, banned by the French Football Federation for 18 international games for his part in France’s World Cup mutiny last summer, scored his seventh goal of the season to earn Chelsea a 2-0 victory over Marseille in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

Anelka was booed from the kick-off by Marseille’s fans but the striker, who announced his retirement from international football after the ban was handed down, shrugged off the abuse by scoring a 27th-minute penalty to add to Terry’s seventh-minute opener.

Terry, prompted by the striker’s success, urged Anelka to remain at Stamford Bridge for as long as possible.

“Nico has stressed before how much he loves the club,” said Terry. “The fans love him, the players love him. We would love him to stay here for years to come.

“He is a great character to have around the place. He is a nice guy and a really good professional, someone who myself and the young players look up to and learn from.”

France international and Chelsea team-mate Florent Malouda was proud of the way Anelka dealt with the pressure of the occasion, especially with the game shown live on television back home.

“There was a lot of pressure on him because, as everyone knows, a lot of people in France were watching the game so he had many reasons to want to score,” said Malouda.

Chelsea remain top of Group F by virtue of goal difference over their next opponents Spartak Moscow.

The victory ended a run of two successive defeats and now all eyes are focused on the visit of Arsenal on Sunday.